Lower Pottsgrove man jailed for horrific' infant abuse (video)

NORRISTOWN – A Lower Pottsgrove man is headed to state prison after he admitted to acting recklessly while caring for his 17-week-old baby boy, who prosecutors say “suffered in silence” with fractures to his skull, ribs, leg, forearms and shoulder.

Jacob “Jake” Govinda Zlomek, 26, most recently of the 3000 block of East High Street, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court on Thursday to 2˝ to 5 years in a state correctional facility after he pleaded guilty to multiple charges of aggravated assault and recklessly endangering another person in connection with eight fractures the child suffered in 2011.

“This is a horrific case of infant abuse. The injuries were all in varying degrees of healing, which is indicative that this was multiple episodes,” said Assistant District Attorney Wallis Brooks, who leads the district attorney’s domestic violence prosecution unit.

“A child 4 months old is totally defenseless, totally dependent on his parents or caregivers for everything that he needs,” added Brooks, who sought state prison time against Zlomek. “At 4 months old you can’t even roll over. You can’t talk. You can’t ask for help. You have a broken bone; you have to suffer in silence. This child was suffering in silence. It’s an outrageous case of infant abuse.”

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Judge Thomas C. Branca, who accepted a plea agreement in the case, also ordered Zlomek to complete 12 years of probation, meaning Zlomek will be under the watchful eye of court officials for 17 years.

As conditions of the sentence, Zlomek, who spoke softly in court and occasionally glanced at his parents who were in the courtroom, must complete parenting classes and an anger management counseling program. Zlomek can have no contact with the child while he’s incarcerated and once released any contact Zlomek has with the child must be supervised.

“This allows that child to get to adulthood. This child will be allowed to live his life to adulthood without being further brutalized,” said Brooks, referring to the contact restrictions and the 17 years of court supervision faced by Zlomek. “What is of utmost importance is that this child be protected.”

“He’s devastated. He is beside himself knowing that he’s not going to see his son until his son is close to 3 and that’s the earliest,” said Meisler, adding Zlomek wears a tattoo depicting his son’s birth date.

Meisler said Zlomek was not emotionally or intellectually equipped to care for a child and never intended to harm the baby.

“Unfortunately, there is no manual for raising kids and the instincts that some of us have, he doesn’t. There’s no doubt that this was reckless. He had no intention of hurting that baby. He wasn’t equipped to be left alone with the child,” Meisler said.

The investigation of Zlomek began Aug. 22, 2011, when Lower Pottsgrove police learned that the infant had been taken to Pottstown Memorial Medical Center for treatment of a leg injury and the child was subsequently transferred to The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, according to a criminal complaint.

The examination at Children’s Hospital revealed the child had also suffered a skull fracture, three rib fractures, “in various stages of healing,” and fractures to his shoulder, both forearms and left leg, according to the arrest affidavit filed by Lower Pottsgrove Detective Joseph Campbell.

The baby’s mother could not provide an explanation for the injuries to the infant but advised police that Zlomek watched the infant during the day and when the mother was at work.

The child’s mother further told police that she observed Zlomek handling the infant “in a rough manner by tossing him from hand to hand” while the couple was engaged in an argument in July, according to the arrest affidavit.

When authorities interviewed Zlomek, he provided various reasons for some of the infant’s injuries, according to court papers.

Zlomek allegedly claimed he had been bathing the infant in June when the child slipped from his hands and fell to the floor, striking his head and elbow, according to police. Zlomek advised police that he treated the injury himself without calling an ambulance or doctor, according to the criminal complaint.

To explain the alleged rib fractures, Zlomek claimed that he was holding the child in June while arguing with the baby’s mother and being “extremely mad,” according to the arrest affidavit. Zlomek allegedly claimed that due to his anger he held the baby too tightly.

Zlomek allegedly claimed his holding the baby too tightly occurred two to three different times “since he was arguing with (the child’s mother) on a regular basis,” according to court papers.

Police said Zlomek could not explain a reason for the child’s swollen leg in August other than to claim the baby “scooted out of the donut seat” he was in while on a couch inside the Lower Pottsgrove residence, according to court papers.

At the time of his arrest, Zlomek was on parole after serving a 1-23 month jail sentence for a conviction of charges he had indecent contact with a Pottstown woman he knew while she slept in her home in May 2007, according to court records. In February 2011, Zlomek, previously of North Sanatoga Road, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of indecent assault without consent in connection with that incident.

Zlomek also previously pleaded guilty to an unrelated charge of possessing drug paraphernalia in connection with a June 2009 incident in Pottstown and was sentenced to one year of probation for that offense.

About the Author

Carl Hessler Jr. writes about crime and justice at the Montgomery County Courthouse for The Mercury and 21st Century Media Newspaper’s Greater Philadelphia area publications. A native of Reading, he studied at Penn State University and Kutztown University before graduating from Alvernia University with a degree in communications. He is a recipient of a National Headliner Award and has been honored for his writing by the Keystone Press Association, Philadelphia Press Association, Society of Professional Journalists and the Associated Press Managing Editors of Pennsylvania. Reach the author at chessler@pottsmerc.com
or follow Carl on Twitter: @MontcoCourtNews.